Aurora likely to join peaker-plant study

By Mike Cetera
STAFF WRITER

Residents disappointed: CAPPRA members hoped city would delay project approval

AURORA -- The city could help fund a study, authorized earlier this week by the DuPage County Board, that will investigate how local governments can regulate peaker power plants.

Mayor David Stover approved the city's involvement on Wednesday, one day after aldermen affirmed Stover's rejection of a committee-level appeal of Reliant Energy's siting plan in northeast Aurora.

The vote is considered the final city hurdle the Houston-based company had to jump prior to building its plant southeast of Butterfield and Eola roads.

"We're simply not going to turn our backs and conclude there's nothing else to be concerned about," Stover said. "If we had not approached this in a timely fashion, we would have been subjected to litigation, but if something comes up -- either within this study or future studies -- that can be harmful to the community, this City Council will take appropriate action."

City officials said the county invited Aurora to participate.

Under the agreement, yet to be approved by County Board members, the city would share one-third of the consultation cost, up to $4,250. Both West Chicago and the county previously agreed to participate in the study.

The agreement will come up for a vote no earlier than March 28, said Rena Mack, a County Board spokesman.

Tuesday, the County Board hired Versar Inc., a national environmental consulting company which has its Midwest regional office in Lombard.

Versar will be paid $8,500 and should complete its work in three to five weeks, Mack said.

The firm will review the peaker-plant industry; review county, state and federal regulations that would limit such facilities, and recommend new regulations to control the environmental impact of such plants.

Although the company will not make specific recommendations for Aurora, Stover said the suggestions should help the city craft its own plan to restrict such facilities.

"Next time anyone knocks on our door, perhaps we'll have some things in place that will address the location of peaker plants more specifically," he said.

The final recommendations will suggest requirements for building and stack heights, open-space buffers, performance standards for air emissions and noise and siting of facilities in areas zoned for certain land use.

The zoning issue was key for the city's acceptance of Reliant's 870-megawatt plant, which still needs Illinois Environmental Protection Agency approval. The 103 acres on which the company plans to build was zoned in 1976 for, among other things, power plants, leaving the city little choice.

Stover said he agreed to accept the county's invitation because few if any studies have addressed the questions Versar expects to answer, such as plant emissions and odor.

"We're glad to see the city of Aurora has joined with DuPage County in hiring a consultant to evaluate peaker power plants," Citizens Against Power Plants in Residential Areas said in a statement. "However, we are very disappointed the city of Aurora has chosen to do this after the final vote on Tuesday."

03/18/2000